Sweater re-forming apparatus



Nov. 9, 1965 A. F. PARIS SWEATER RBI-FORMING- APPARATUS IS Sheets-Sheet1 Filed Sept. 4, 1962 I NVE N TOR. AzyustFParlS 2, gawk; 71%

Nov. 9, 1965 A. F. PARIS SWEATER IRE-FORMING- APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed Sept. 4, 1962 AyusfFPariJ BY j 57 4M INVENTOR.

Nov. 9, 1965 A. F. PARIS 3,216,633

SWEATER RE-FORMING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 4, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 3INVENTOR. AzyustFParls United States Patent Ofi ice 3,216,633 SWEATERRE-FORMING APPARATUS August F. Paris, 1025 Oak St., Brockway, Pa. FiledSept. 4, 1962, Ser. No. 221,233 20 Claims. (Cl. 22370) This applicationis a continuation-in-part of applicants copending application, SerialNo. 146,042, filed Oct. 18, 1961, entitled Sweater Sizing and ShapingMachine, now abandoned.

This invention generally relates to procedure and apparatus for sizingand shaping garments. This invention relates more specifically toapparatus and procedure for stretching and re-forming knitted garments,such as sweaters, that have been shrunk as the result of dyeing, washingor other manufacturing treatments.

Many types of sweaters are knitted with undyed yarn into their desiredfinal form and are then dyed to the desired color as an entire unit. Thedyeing operation often shrinks the sweaters out of size and deformstheir shape and styling. Such malformed sweaters must be re-formed intotheir desired size and styling to be satisfactory for sale.

In addition to shrink-causing dyeing operations, sweaters are oftensoiled during manufacture and must be washed prior to finishing. Also,unevenly knitted sweaters are treated with chemical sizing compoundsthat enable them to hold their proper shape. These and other treatmentswill cause sweaters, and knitted garments in general, to shrink andrequire re-forming.

Sweaters, whether malformed or not, require a finishing operation, suchas pressing, to remove wrinkles developed during manufacturingprocesses. Also finishing operations will slightly re-form sweaters toremove small imperfections and unitize or give body to the garment. Onepreferred means of finishing sweaters involves the use of a pre-shaped,expanding-frame that fits inside an individual sweater. A sweater fittedonto such a frame will be placed under slight wrinkle-freeing tension.By subjecting a sweater under such tension, first to steam and then todry air, the sweater will be pressed or finished in its final desiredconfiguration without disturbing the natural texture or surfacecharacter of the yarn. Although an expanding-frame garment finisher willstretch a knitted garment slightly, it cannot satisfactorily re-form asweater that has seriously shrunk as the result of chemical treatment.

I have considered the problems existing in the garment finishing artsummarized above, and have found that these problems have not been metwith a completely satisfactory solution.

According, an object of my invention has been to discover and develop aprocedure for uniformly re-sizing and re-shaping malformed garments suchas Sweaters;

Another object of my invention has been to produce a machine that can beconveniently operated to automatically stretch and re-form sweaters;

Another important object of my invention has been to provide a singlemachine on which a sweater can be loaded for both wrinkle-free finishingand stretch resizing and re-shaping;

A further object of my invention has been to provide a sweaterre-forming machine that can be easily adapted for use with sweaters ofvarious sizes and shapes, and that can be pre-set for automaticoperation on sweaters of the same size and shape;

A further important object of my invention has been to provide a sweaterre-forming machine that is composed of relatively simple,easy-to-operate and maintain mechanisms;

Patented Nov. 9, 1965 These and other important objects of my inventionwill appear to those skilled in the art upon reading and understandingthe following description of my invention wherein specific reference maybe had to the accompanying drawings of which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the sweater finishing machineconstituting my invention which is broken away in part to show certaininternal details of the ma chine;

FIGURE 2 is a top view of my machine partly in cross sect-ion takenalong line I'III of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmental perspective view of a portion of my machine asset up to finish properly formed sweaters;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective rear view of a bafile plate that can be usedwith my machine for finishing either properly formed or malformedsweaters;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmental perspective view of a portion of my machine asset up to finish malformed sweaters;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmental side view in crosssectionof the main sweatergrippingmeans employed in finishing malformed sweaters; v I

FIGURE 7 is a schematic layout of a control system for operating thestretching mechanism of my machine;

FIGURE 8 is a fragmental perspective view of a collar forming attachmentemployed in conjunction with my machine; and

FIGURES 9 and 10 are fragmental frontviews of a portion of my machineillustrating alternative arrangements for attaching the collar finishingattachment of FIGURE 8 to mymachine.

One phase of my invention relates to the use of a garment finishingstand or form having. the desiredside and arm contours for shaping thegarment. Upper portions of the garment are supported on the finishingstand-while the garment is stretchedby. means that grip its bottomperiphery or waist portion. Another phase of my invention relates to theuse of pre-set adjustable stretching limits and adjustable-lengthpneumatic-actuator piston rods whereby the re-forming machine can bepre-set to automatically reproduce a desired stretching operation forgarments of ditferent size.

Another important phase of my invention relates to the H use of sweatergripping means that are-selectively automatically held in either agrippingor non-gripping po sition to make the most efiicient use of themachine operators hands. I

A further phase of my invention relates to the use of a collar formingattachment that can be selectively em pl-oyed to stretch and re-formthecollar and upper portions of the sweater or to hold the collar andupper portions of the sweater in a pre-formed position during thestretching operation, or to move and stretch the collar and upperportions of the sweater somewhat less than the stretching movementapplied to the garment waist portion.

Referring now morespecifically to the drawings,-in FIGURE 1 there isshown a garment finishing machine 10 including a base or support part 11that is mounted on the shop floor, and a central column or frame post:

structure 12'that is mounted on the supportingvbase and extendsvertically upwardly through the machine. The central column 12 consistsof a hollow rectangular tubelike member (see FIGURES 1-3) thathasperforations or open portions 14 throughout its length to permit-theescape of steam and air from itsinteriorto-the garment being finished.Steam'conduits 15 and'air' conduits 16' are provided with'discharge"orifices spaced along their A stand, form, or expanding finishing frameis mounted on an upper portion of the central column 12 for receivingand supporting the garment being finished (not shown). The finishingframe 20 is provided with identical halves which each include a shouldermember or frame part 21 that is pivotally connected to an upper endportion of the central column 12 and extends outwardly therefrom. Anupper arm member or frame part 22 is slidably connected to the shouldermember 21 by means of a pin and slot connection 23. A lower arm memberor frame part 24 is slidably and pivotally connected at one end to theouter end of the upper arm member 22 by means of a pin and slotconnection 25. A side-creaser bar or edge shaping linkage 26 ispivotally connected at its upper end to a side adjuster link or expandermember 27 by a removable pin or bolt 28.

The side-creaser bar 26 is laterally-adjustably supported at its lowerend by a perforated sizing link or brace 29 that is securely connectedto the base 11 and extends outwardly therefrom. The inner end of thelower arm portion is also pivotally connected to the side-adjuster link27 by the pin 28.

The side-adjuster link 27 (see FIGURE 1) is connected to the centralcolumn 12 for rotative outer and inward expanding movement by a pivotalconnection 30 adjacent its lower end portion. A pneumatic cylinderframe-expanding jack, actuator or other motor means 31 is supportedwithin the central column 12 and is operatively connected to both of theside-adjuster links 27 through a pair of toggle links 32. It will beseen that as the pneumatic actuator 31 causes the toggle links 32 topivot the side adjuster links 27 outwardly, the side-creaser bars 26 andthe arm-forming frame members 22 and 24 will spread or expand.Conveniently, the actuator can be provided with an adjustable strokelimit stop (not shown) that will automatically determine the ultimatedegree of frame expansion as required for garments of a given size andmaterial. The pin and slot sliding connections 23 and between the armand shoulder members 21, 22, and 24, perm-it the arm-receiving parts ofthe finishing frame 20 to be collapsed and rotated upwardly tofacilitate loading of a sweater onto the machine.

If the machine is to be used for finishing properly formed garments, apair of baffle plates, counterplates or waist holders 40 (see FIGURES 3and 4) having a limited number of spaced perforations or open portions41 therethrough are mounted directly on the central column 12 of themachine. The plates 40 are also provided with two strips 42 of frictionmaterial such as traction cloth, that frictionally hold a portion of agarment in place during processing.

The plates 40 are removably secured to the central column 12 by a trackor flange 43 that engages a rail portion 12a of the central column 12,and a spring clip or other resilient means 44 that engages an opposedwall 12b of the central column 12 (see FIGURE 4). The plates 40 mayconveniently be vertically repositioned to engage a peripheral waistportion of the garment being finished. The plates 40 so positionedprotect the resilient tight-fitting waist ribbing of the garment fromthe softening action of the steam. As the machine 10 is to be used forfinishing garments of all sizes and shapes, several different sizeplates 40 may be selectively employed.

The mechanism for stretch-re-forming malformed garments is showngenerally in FIGURES 1 and 2 and includes vertically movable means, suchas an elevator or vertically movable open frame 50 as its primarycomponent. The elevator is constructed of forward and rearward side barsor frame parts 50a and 50b. A pair of vertical guide plates orcounterplate support means 51 (see especially FIGURES 2 and 5) aresecurely mounted on central internal portions of the elevator 50. Eachguide plate 51 has a pair of horizontally-spaced, vertically-extendingtubes or guide portions 52 securely connected to their inwardly facingsurfaces (see FIGURES 5 and 6). Two pair of vertical, elevator-guiderails or rods 53 are mounted by upper and lower brackets 55 onto thefront and rear portions of the central column 12. The tubes 52 slidevertically on the rods 53 to permit smooth vertical movement of theelevator 50 while maintaining the elevator 50 perfectly horizontal.

The elevator 50 supports a pair of forward and rear clamping means 60that grip and protect the lower peripheral portions of the garment beingstretched. Each clamping means 60 includes a counterplate or waistholder 40 that may be the same member employed for finishing well-formedgarments as discussed in connection with FIGURES 3 and 4. Each plate 40is removably connected to an associated vertical plate 51 as by a pairof resilient clips 45 (see FIGURE 5). Each counterplate 40 is alsosupportingly connected to the elevator 50 by a pair of horizontallyspaced strips or resilient support members 54 of spring-like material.The strips 54 are connected at their upper ends to side portions of thecounterplate 40 and at their lower ends to internal surfaces of theelevator 50. The strips 54, together with the resilient clips 45 thatconnect the guide plates 51 and the counterplates 40, permit thecounterplates 40 to have a degree of horizontal flex or resilienthorizontal displacement.

Each counterplate 40 includes a central or interior portion 40a that isflat, and constitutes the major horizontal extent of the plate. Eachcounterplate 40 also has a pair of inwardly inclined edge or endportions 40b that are integrally formed with the central portion 40a and.provide a body-like contour for sweater-forming purposes. The centraland end portions 40a and 4% provide an outwardly facing convex grippingsurface to which is attached strips of friction material 42 such ascommercially available traction cloth. The vertically central portion ofthe counterplate is perforated with a series of spaced open portions 41that permit a controlled limited passage of steam and air through thewaist region of the garment being finished. Conveniently, as mentionedabove, the counterplate 40 used for stretch-reforming are also used as abafile plate for protecting the ribbing of well-formed garments as shownin FIGURES 3 and 4.

A perforated, vertically extending baffle or protector plate 56 (seeFIGURE 5) is mounted on each counterplate 40. The baffle 56 extendsupwardly along the interior of sweaters being stretched to protect thesweaters from snagging on internal parts of the machine 10, such asextra balfle plates 40 that may be connected to upper portions of thecentral column 12 by their clip and rail connections 43 and 44.

A pair of pivot brackets or flanged blocks 57 (see FIG- URES l, 2, and6) are welded or otherwise securely mountedon an outer central surfaceof the elevator 50. Each bracket 57 has a pair of spaced pins or bolts57a that pivotally support an actuating link 58. A clamping plate orouter gripping member 59 is operatively connected to the link 58 by apin, bolt, or other suitable connecting member 61. The clamping plate 59cooperates with an associated counterplate 40 to clamp-grip and protecta major part of the garment Waist portion. As is best shown in FIGURE 6,the clamping plate 59 has traction plate 62 mounted on its inwardlyfacing surface. The traction plate 62 is preferably constructed fromthin perforated aluminum grid material that is bent or boxed to presentan inwardly-offset, verticallycentrally located gripping part 62a. Theinwardly facing surface of the traction plate 62 is roughened tofrictionally hold the clamped portion of a garment being; processed. Byconstructing the traction plate 62 of per-- forated offset material, anexhaust is provided to permit:

the flow of a limited controlled amount of steam and.

drying air through the gripped waist portion of the garment, from thecentral perforations 4.1 of the counterplate. As is best shown in FIGURE6,, an. QY JZCf-inter 5. spring, snap or' clamp positioning means 63 isconnected to the pivot bracket 57 and the supporting link 58 atlocations such that its resilient force will selectively pull itsassociated. clamping plate 59'to a non-clamping open position as shownin the forward portion of FIGURE 1 and the full line view of FIGURE 6,or into a closed clamping position as shown in the rearward portion ofFIGURE 1 and the broken line view of FIGURE 6. The pivot link 58 isprovided with a cross bar handle or gripping means 64 that facilitatemanual movement of the clamping plates 59'into a desired one of theirselective positions.

A pair of side-edge grippers or clamping members 70 are provided forengaging the outer side edge surfaces of'a sweater being processed. Theside-edge grippers 70 cooperate with the side-creaser bars 26 to gripthe side edge parts of the sweater waist portion. The side-edge grippers70 each include an inwardly-open, U-shaped clamping flange 71 that isresiliently supported by a leaf-spring or thin metal arm 72. The arm 72is carried by an H-shaped block, carriage or sliding support member 73.The side bars 50a and 50b of the elevator 50 provide a supporting trackor table along which the block 73 can'move and carry the clamping flange71 into and out of operative clamping engagement with the sidecreaserbars 26.

A pair of guide rods or bars 74 that are slidably positioned inelongated bearing portions 500 of the elevator 50 (see the right-handportion of FIGURE 1) and are each securely connected to a respectiveblock 73 to guide the block and its associateclarnping flange 71 intheir horiz'ontahmovement. The outer end of each rod 74' is providedwith a handle or knob 75 which may be grasped and pulled outwardly bythe machine operator to disengage its associated U-shaped-clampingflange 71 from its cooperative relationship with the side-creaser bars26. I prefer'to also provide each block 73 with a finger tab orflange 76that extends outwardly toward the machine operator. The finger tabs76'provide convenient alternative means for moving the blocks 73outwardly from their clampingposition.

Inorder to make the most eflicient use of themachine operators hands,there is provided a pair of ratchets, latches, or spring-loaded hookassemblies 77 that are located adjacent the outer or non-clampingpositions of the side-edge grippers 70-. Each ratchet 77includes a pivotally mounted, downwardly extending hook portion 78 thathas an inwardlyfacing tapered edge 78a. The hook portion 78 is biased downwardly bysuitable resilient means such as a coil spring (not shown). Each block73 has a lip or tooth-portion 73a that is provided by a thin metal stripsecurely attached to the outwardly facing surface of the block. As theblock 73 is moved outwardly by the handle 75 on the rod 74, the toothportion 73a engages the tapered edge 78a of the downwardly extendinghook 78, lifts the hook, and moves into a secure hook engagement wherebythe block 73 is held in an outer non-clamping position.

Each block 73 is also'provided with a spring or other resilientmeans'79-for urging the block towards its central operative positionwherein the U-shaped clamping bracket 71 co-operates with theside-creaser bars 26. Outward-manual movement of the blocks 73 is thusopposed by the resilient force of the springs 79. Each ratchet77 isprovided with a key or finger gripping por tion 77a that extendsoutwardly toward the machine operator. The construction of the ratchet77 is such that depression of the key 77a will lift the hook portion 78and release the lip portion 73a of the block 73 to allow the block toslide inwardly under the resilient force of the spring 79. It will thusbe seen that the machine operator can form and shape a waist and sideportion of the garment aboutthe: side-creaser bars 26 as desired andwhile holding the thus formed garment portion in position, depress'thekey 77a with his other hand to re- 6]. lease the block 73'andpermit thespring 79 to' bring the U-shaped clamping member 71 into cooperationrelationship with the side-crea-ser'bar 26;

The machine 10 is to housed on a production line" basis and accordinglyit is desirable that it be capable of accurately reproducing any givenstretch-reforming operation. A pair of stroke limit members 80* arepro-- vided to enable the machine operator to'pre-set the de gree ofstretch, the final garment length, or both; The stroke limit memberseach include rearward and'forwardw tion and adjacent thelowermostielevator position by a.

lower cross piece These. cross pieces: enhancethe stability of thestroke limitrnembers 80am! provideiulti mate limits for the movementoffthe elevator 50.

The stroke limit members 80 are adaptedto' carry adjustable stop orlimit means'such' as removable limiti pins 86 (see FIGURES 1i and 2).The pins-86-ea'ch include a gripping or handleportion'8 6ath at isformed integrally with a tapered shank portion 86b. The rear ward andforward bars 81 and8 2 ofthe stroke limit members 80 have several pairsof aligned open portions or pin-receiving means 87 spaced at convenientintervals therealong throughout the potential range of elevatormovement. The open portions in the forward bar 82 are slightly largerthan the open portions inthe rearward'bar 81, so that a pair of suchaligned open portions 87 will tightly receive the tapered shank 86bofthe limit pins 86. Two limit pins 86 are employed on each stroke limitmember 80; one to determine the starting level of the elevator 50, andanother to determine'the' end of the stretching stroke or finalgarmentlength.

A pair of pneumatic cylinders, jacks or other linear motor devices 90constitute a power source for movingthe elevator 50 along the rails 53.The jacks 90'each include a power output link or piston rod' 9lthat'extendsupwardly out of the cylinder and is operatively'connected tothe elevator 50 through a piston rod, adjustable length extension, or"connecting linkage 92. The extension 92 is constructed of a pair ofsubstantially parallel, spaced, vertical bars 92a that are connected attheir end by upper" and lower cross blocks 92]) and and 92c,respectively. The lower cross block 920 is secured, as by a threadedconnection, to the upper end of an associated piston rod 91. The bar ofthe piston :rod extension 92 have a plurality of spaced open portions92d extending therethrough for receiving pins, bolts, or otherelevator-connecting means. The end portions of the elevator 50areconnected to the jacks 90 by a lower bolt, pin or elevatorconnectingmeans 93 that passes through the bars 92a just below the elevator 50.The lower bolt 93' supports the elevator during its initial ornon-stretched position. An upper bolt 94 passes through the bars. 92ajust above the elevator 50 to operatively engage the elevator when thepiston rods 51 move downwardly on the garment stretching stroke. Themachine 10 is intended to accommodate garments of various size and,accordingly, a' plurality of spaced open portions 92d are-provided inthe extensions 92 to selectively receive the upper and lower bolts 94and 93. The spacing of portions 92d is such that a convenient variety ofelevator connectingtlocation is available.

The extensions 92 permit the jacks 90 to operae through their entirerange if necessary, regardless of the size of garment being processed.To obtain a maximum range of operation from the jacks 90, it is onlynecessary to position the lower bolt 93 to hold the elevator 50 againsttheupper stroke limit pin 86 when the piston rod 91 is in its upperposition.

Air pipes or conduits 95 are connected to opposite ends of each of thejacks 90. A valving arrangement for controlling the operation of thejack is shown schematically in FIGURE 7. A distributor or spool valve96- is mounted within a casing 97 to selectively connect either upper orlower end portions of the jacks 90 with a high pressure air source 98while simulltaneously connecting other end of the jacks with a lowpressure or drain source such as the atmosphere. In the position shownthe distributor valve 96 is connecting the high pressure source 98 tothe lower portion of the jacks 90, thus causing the jacks to hold theelevator 50 (see FIGURE 1) in its uppermost or starting position.

An actuator rod 99 is operatively connected to the distributor valve 96and extends through a coil or solenoid 100 by which the valve 96 can bepositioned as desired. A biasing means such as compression spring 101urges the actuator rod 99 and the valve 96 to the position shown. Thesolenoid 100 is the output of a control circuit that is powered by abattery or other source of electrical current 102 and is controlled by aswitch 103. Preferably, the control switch 103 is interrelated with thecontrol of the steam and air supply with the control of frame-expandingjack 31 to cause sequential or simultaneous operation thereof. When theoperator closes the switch 103, the solenoid 100 will be energized topull the distributor valve 96 to the right of FIGURE 7 and connect theupper portion of the jacks 90 with a source of high pressure :air whilesimultaneously connecting the lower portion of the jacks with theatmosphere. The pressure ai-r thus supplied will cause the piston rods71 to move downwardly to lower the elevator 50 and stretch a garmentloaded on the machine 10. When the control circuit is broken by releaseof the switch 103, the compression spring 101 will return the valve 96to its normal position whereby the source of pressure air 98 isconnected to the bottom of the jacks 90. The jack 90 will thereby returnthe elevator 50 to its upper or starting position.

Referring again to FIGURE 1, there is shown a collar and front formingattachment 110 that is securely mounted on the forward counterplate 40for vertical movement therewith. FIGURE 8 shows an enlarged fragmentalsection of the collar-forming attachment 110 to illustrate itsconstruction. A backing plate or strip 111 extends vertically for thelength of the attachment 110 and has suitable open portions or bores 112adjacent its ends for receiving connecting means as hereinafterdiscussed (see FIGURES l, 9, and A plurality of raised members 113having slotted portions 114 therein are mounted on by rivets or spotwelds 115 to the outer surface of the strip 111. The slotted portions114 in the raised members 113 open at their side edges to receivecollar-forming or molding pins 116 as shown in FIGURE 8 whereby a sharppoint is exposed for use in molding the sweater. It will thus be seenthat pins 116 can be located as necessary along the front of the machineto aid in molding and holding local portions of the sweater beingprocessed as required.

FIGURES 9 and 10 show alternative arrangements for mounting thecollar-forming attachment 110 on the machine 10. In FIGURE 9 the collarattachment 110 is shown securely mounted on the center column 12 whereit is held in a fixed position during the stretching operation. Ofcourse, the collar attachment is not connected to the counterplate 40when the mounting arrangement of FIGURE 9 is employed. FIGURE 10 showsan arrangement wherein the collar-forming attachment 110 is resilientlyconnected by upper and lower springs 117 and 118 at its respective endsto the stationary center column 12 and to the moving counterplate 40.When this arrangement is employed, vertical movement of the counterplate40 will cause 'a lesser movement of the collar-forming attachment 110.The actual movement of the collar attachment will be determined by therelationship between the spring contacts of the upper and lower springs117 and 118.

Thus it will be seen that a variety of sweater reforming motions andstretching movements can be obtained by my machine as required to meetthe variety of fashionable sweater types such as V-necks, cardigans,turtle necks, etc. The variety of movements also will enable the machineto correct rnany different types of sweater irregularities.

The machine 10 is conveniently adapted to finish sweaters having rib-bedor other type cuffs that may require special attention. For this purposea pair of outwardly diverging vertical clamp-holding rods 120 aresupported by the base supported flange 83. Each of the rods carries anadjustably positioned clamping member 121 for holding the cuff portionof a garment being processed. The clamping member 121 shown in FIGURE 1consists of a pair of mutually pivoted, resiliently-spring-biasedclamping halves 122 which each include a cuff-engaging clamp jaw 123, arod-holding cylindrical portion 124, a hinged portion 125, and agripping portion 126. The hinged portions 125 of the two clamping halvesinterfit and are joined by a suitable pin to form a unitary clamp. Whena garment having a cuff that requires special attention is loaded ontothe machine, the rods 120 are individually flexed inwardly and thegripping portions 126 of the clamping member 121 are squeezed to openthe jaws 123 and also allow the clamp to be adjusted along the rod 120'.When the clamp 121 is in place, it is engaged with the cuff and the rod120 is allowed to spring outwardly applying a slight tension to thesleeve.

The operation of my invention as thus described is as follows: Thearm-receiving portions 21, 22, 24 of the garment frame 20 are collapsedas shown in the left-hand portion of FIGURE 1. The garment is loadedonto the frame 20 and the arm portions are extended to hold the garmentin place as shown in the right-hand portion of FIGURE 1. The garment ispro-steamed to make it pliable and easy to manipulate on the frame. Ifthe garment has cuffs requiring special attention, the clamps 121 areattached as described above and the sleeves are placed under a slighttension. If the garment requires stretching due to deformities caused bydyeing or other manufacturing treatment, the waist portion is fittedinto the various gripping means 40, 59, and 70 of the elevator. Theoperator will attach the gripping members one at a time by firsthand-forming and locating a section of the garment waist portion on acorresponding side-creaser bar 26 and while holding the garment inplace, will depress the key 77a to release the side-edge clamping member71. When both side edges are secured in place, the front of the garmentis molded and located on the counterplate 40, using pins if necessaryfor the central portion; the clamping plate 57 is then brought intocooperative engagement with the front portion of the garment. Thisoperation is repeated for the back portion of the garment. When thegarment is in place on the machine, the frame expander jack 31 and thestretching jacks 90 are energized to respectively expand the frame andremove the wrinkles from the garment, and lower the elevator 50, thusstretching the garment and restoring it to its desired shape andstyling. During the stretching operation, the garment is subjected tofirst a charge of steam from conduit 15 which softens the fibers andmakes them pliable, and then is automatically subjected to a charge ofdrying air from conduit 16, that sets or fixes the fabric in its newlyformed configuration.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a single machine that willperform the ordinary operation of wrinklefree finishing knitted garmentssuch as sweaters, and will also correct irregularities in the garmentscaused by manufacturing processes. My machine can be set to accuratelyand automatically reproduce a given re-forming and finishing operationfor garments of a given size and shape. Furthermore, my machine caneasily be adapted agate,

9 by the interchange of easily removable parts, to finish and completelyre-form garmentsof'widely varied sizes and shapes.

Having thus described my invention and an illustrative embodimentthereof, I claim:

1. In a sweater finishing machine having a: frame constructed on avertical axis and including portions for forming the arms, shoulders,and body parts of a sweater, a stretching mechanismcomprising: means forgripping lower edges of a sweater to be stretched, means operativelyconnected to said gripping means for moving said gripping meansuniformly along said verticalaxis away from said shoulder forming frameportion, and means for subjecting the sweater to sequential charges ofsteam and drying air while the sweater is beingsimultaneously stretchedby said moving means.

2. In a sweater finishing machine having a base, a central columnsecurely connected to-the base and extending vertically upwardtherefrom, a frame for forming arm and body portions of a sweaterto-befinished operatively connected to the central column, means forexpanding and contracting the frame toapply a finishing tension to asweater being processed, and means for subjecting the sweater beingprocessed to charges of steam and drying air, a stretching mechanismcomprising: means for gripping lower edges of a sweater to be processed,an elevator for supporting said gripping means, track means mounted onthe central column for guidingly supporting said elevator for verticalsliding movement with respect to the central column, and power means formoving said elevator vertically downwardly.

3. In a sweater finishing machine as defined in claim 2, said stretchingmechanism further comprising: adjustable means for limiting the downwardtravel of said elevator.

4. In a sweater finishing machine as defined in claim 2, said stretchingmechanism further comprising: adjustable limit means for providing avariable range of elevator movement.

5. In a sweater finishing machine as defined in claim 2, said stretchingmechanism further comprising: means for holding localized portions ofthe sweater being processed in a pre-formed configuration duringdownward movement of said elevator.

6. In a sweater finishing machine as defined in claim 2, said stretchingmechanism further comprising: additional means for gripping localizedportions of the sweater being processed, first resilient meansoperatively connected between said additional gripping means and thecenter column, and second resilient means operatively connected betweensaid additional gripping means and said elevator, whereby downwardmovement of said elevator will cause a lesser downward movement of saidadditional gripping means.

7. In a sweater finishing machine as defined in claim 2, said stretchingmechanism further comprising: additional gripping means operativelyconnected to said elevator for gripping localized portions of thesweater being processed and moving the portions thus gripped downwardlywith movement of said elevator.

8. In a sweater finishing machine having a base, a vertical centercolumn extending upwardly from the base, a pair of frame parts forreceiving arms of a sweater to be finished, a pair of side-creaser barsthat are operatively connected to said frame parts, and means forexpanding said frame parts and side-creaser bars, a stretching mechanismcomprising: an elevator surrounding an intermediate portion of thecentral column, means for moving said elevator vertically along thecentral column, means mounted on said elevator for grippingsubstantially all of the lower edge portion of a sweater to bestretched.

9. Apparatus as defined in claim 8, said gripping means of saidstretching mechanism including U-shaped sideedge holders that cooperatewith the side-creaser bars to grip side edge portions of the sweater.

10. Apparatus as defined in claim'8 wherein said gripping means'furthercomprises apair of U-shaped sideedge 'holdersthat cooperate with theside-creaser bars to grip the side edges of the sweater, each of saidU-shaped side-edge holders being resilientlysupported by a carriageblock that is mounted for horizontal sliding movement on said elevator,and means for resiliently urging each of said blocks andtheir-associatedU-shaped side-edge holders towardtheir operativeclamping: positions.

11. Apparatus as defined in claim 10 wherein ratchet meansare providedfor selectively holding each of said blocks in an unclamped position;

12; Apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein said gripping meansincludes a pair ofcounterplates supported on said elevator, apair ofclamp plates'pivotally supported on said elevator in an opposedcooperative relationship with said counterplates, and'apair of U-shapedside-edge holdersfor cooperating with the side-creaser barsto grip sideedges of the sweater;

13$ Apparatus-as defined in claim 12, wherein overcenter snap means isprovided for each clamp plate to urge the clamp plate to one-of'twoselective positions.

14. Apparatus for finishing a sweater or the like comprising a base, avertical center column having a hollow interior mounted on said base andextending upwardly therefrom, means for selectively supplying steam andair to the interior of said center column, a plurality of open portionsin said center column for passing steam and air therethrough, anexpanding frame having a pair of collapsible and expandablearm-receiving portions operatively connected to an upper portion of saidvertical center column, actuator means for expanding and contractingsaid arm-receiving portions, a pair of side-creaser bars extendingvertically on opposed sides of said center column and operativelyconnected to said actuator means for receiving side-edge portions of thesweater, an elongated open elevator surrounding said center column andsaid-creaser bars, a plurality of rails mounted on said base andextending vertically along said center column, a plurality of trackssecurely connected to said elevator for operatively receiving saidplurality of rails, a pair of opposed side-edge grippers slidablymounted on said elevator for movement toward and away from said centercolumn, said side-edge grippers each including a U-shaped clampingflange for cooperating with a respective side creaser bar to clamp-gripside edge portions of a sweater, resilient means for urging saidside-edge grippers toward their operative clamp-gripping position,releasable latch means for selectively retaining said side-edge grippersin a non-clamping position, forward and rearward counterplatesoperatively connected to said elevator for vertical movement therewith,each of said counterplates having outwardly facing convex surfaces forengaging interior waist portions of the sweater, a pair of clamp platespivotally connected to said elevator in opposed cooperativerelationships with respect to said counterplates, each of said clampplates having an inwardly-facing concave surface for engaging exteriorwaist portions of the sweater and together with its associatedcounterplate, clamp-grip a substantial amount of the sweater waistportion, pneumatic actuator means for vertically moving said elevator,said pneumatic actuator means including adjustable length piston rodmeans, and adjustable means for limiting the range of vertical movementof said elevator.

15. Apparatus as defined in claim 14 wherein, said counterplates areconnected to said elevator by resilient means that permits thecounterplates to have some degree of horizontal resilient movement.

16. Apparatus as defined in claim 14 wherein said counterplates haveopen portions therein for passing steam and air to the sweater waistportion, and said inwardlyfacing surface of each of said clamp plates isprovided by an inwardly-offset, thin metal grid that is perforated toexhaust the steam and air passed by said open portions in saidcounterplates.

17. Apparatus as defined in claim 14 wherein, at least one protectivebaflle is mounted on, and extends upwardly from, one of saidcounterplates, to protect adjacent portions of the sweater.

18. Apparatus as defined in claim 14, further comprising a pair ofresilient bars that are operatively supported by said base and extendupwardly to adjacent said armreceiving portions, and clamp meansadjustably secured to each of said bars for clamp-engaging cuff portionsof the sweater.

19. A method of shaping a sweater comprising:

(A) internally supporting arm and shoulder portions of the sweater on aframe that provides substantially the desired sweater size and shape,

(B) gripping substantially the entire waist portion of the sweater, and

(C) pulling the thus gripped Waist portion axially of the sweater awayfrom said shoulder portion while simultaneously subjecting the sweaterto a charge of steam and subsequently to a charge of drying air.

20. A sweater finishing machine for processing sweaters having a tightfitting ribbed waist portion, comprising: a base, a hollow verticallyextending central column mounted on said base and extending upwardlytherefrom, said central column being perforated throughout a substantialportion of its length, a finishing frame mounted on an upper portion ofthe central column for supportingly receiving a sweater to be finished,means for supplying processing fluids into the hollow interior of saidcentral column, and baffle means mounted on said central column forreceiving the ribbed waist portion of the sweater to be finished andcontrolling-by-limiting the flow of processing fluids through the ribbedwaist portion.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,326,775 8/43Frentzel 2237O 2,841,315 7/58 Paris 22370 3,008,613 11/61 Paris 22369JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKY, Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No.3,216,633 November 3, 1965 August F. Paris It is hereby certified thaterror appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and thatthe said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 1, line 52, for "According" read Accordingly column 6, line 49,strike out "and", second occurrence; column '7, line 25, after "supply"insert and column 10, line 38, for "said-creaser" read said side-creaserSigned and sealed this 9th day of August 1966.

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST W. SWIDER EDWARD J. BRENNER Attesting Officer Commissioner ofPatents

1. IN A SWEATER FINISHING MACHINE HAVING A FRAME CONSTRUCTED ON AVERTICAL AXIS AND INCLUDING PORTIONS FOR FORMING THE ARMS, SHOULDERS,AND BODY PARTS OF A SWEATER, A STRETCHING MECHANISM COMPRISING: MEANSFOR GRIPPING LOWER EDGES OF A SWEATER TO BE STRETCHED, MEANS OPERATIVELYCONNECTED TO SAID GRIPPING MEANS FOR MOVING SAID GRIPPING MEANSUNIFORMLY ALONG SAID VERTICAL AXIS AWAY FROM SAID SHOULDER FORMING FRAMEPORTION, AND MEANS FOR SUBJECTING THE SWEATER TO SEQUENTIAL CHARGES OFSTEAM AND DRYING AIR WHILE THE SWEATER IS BEING SIMULTANEOUSLY STRETCHEDBY SAID MOVING MEANS.